Decorative sheeting and garland

ABSTRACT

Decorative polymer sheeting comprising a longitudinal web portion positioned centrally widthwise thereof, a multiplicity of elongated strips integral with said web portion and extending outwardly from both sides thereof and a permanent crease on each strip extending over a substantial portion of its length is continuously made by passing a continuous thin, deformable polymer sheet through a die in which a pair of elongated blades repetitively cuts slits in the sheet thereby forming the strips and a pair of creaser punches which move in unison with the blades longitudinally creases each strip as the next following adjacent strip is being cut by the blades.

United States Patent Sanders [54] DECORATIVE SHEETING AND GARLAND Frederick M. Sanders, 8338 N. Sunnyside Ave., Clovis, Calif. 93612 [22] Filed: June3, 1970 [21] Appl.No.: 42,949

[72] Inventor:

521 U.S.Cl ..161/l5,161/109,!61/128,

93/15 511 Int.Cl. ..A4lgl/00,A47g 33/08 581 Field oISearch ..l8/4 S;93/1.5; 156/250, 64,

156/252, 253, 256; 161/109, 117, 121, l23, 128, 129, 130, DIG. 3, 12, 15, 22, 23; 264/163 [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,503,292 3/1970 Kingberg ..93/1.5 X 1,750,844 3/1930 .lopson ..l61/12 X 3,315,273 4/1967 Bullard ..2/3 R 3,041,767 7/1962 Ranoha et al. 161/24 3,215,047 11/1965 Braun Primary Examiner-.lohn T. Goolkasian Assistant Examiner-Henry F. Epstein Attorney-Boyken, Mohler, Foster & Schwab 5 7] ABSTRACT Decorative polymer sheeting comprising a longitudinal web portion positioned centrally widthwise thereof, a multiplicity of elongated strips integral with said web portion and extending outwardly from both sides thereof and a permanent crease on each strip extending over a substantial portion of its length is continuously made by passing a continuous thin, deformable polymer sheet through a die in which a pair of elongated blades repetitively cuts slits in the sheet thereby forming the strips and a pair of creaser punches which move in unison with the blades longitudinally creases each strip as the next following adjacent strip is being cut by the blades.

10 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures PATENTEDJANZSIQTZ 3,637,452

SHEU 3 OF 3 INVENTOR.

FAfOfK/KK M SANDLKS BY A TTUKNE V5 DECORATIVE SHEETING AND GARLAND FIELD or THE INVENTION This invention concerns unique decorative sheeting and the process and apparatus used to make it. More specifically it concerns decorative sheeting comprising a central longitudinal web portion with elongated appendages extending therefrom, each of which has a permanent crease formed therein, and the method and apparatus used to make such sheeting.

BACKGROUND OF INVENTION The decorative sheeting contemplated by this invention is intended for use in making garland for decorating parade floats, building fronts, platforms, holiday figures and the like. Traditionally, garland has been made by cutting appropriately shaped strips into sheets of paper or fabric and winding or enmeshing the cut sheets on wire cores or frames. Such fabric or paper garland suffers from a wide variety of disadvantages. Both tend to fade in sunlight and will wilt or rot in excessive moisture or rain. Also, both are substantial fire hazards and may completely disintegrate in severe outdoor weather. These disadvantages have led garland makers to replace paper and fabric with the recently available inexpensive, thin, flexible, synthetic polymer sheeting. In general, such polymer sheets provide a much more durable, sturdy garland than the fabric or paper previously used. However, one problem arising with garland made from such polymer sheeting is that the strip portions, which are usually elongated, tend to droop or sag from their own weight. This causessuch garland to lose its uniform shape, especially under severe outdoor use.

INVENTION DESCRIPTION In accordance with this invention, a unique decorative polymer sheeting has been devised in which the strip portions are rigidified by a permanent crease positioned longitudinally therein, along with a process and apparatus for rapidly and efficiently manufacturing such sheeting. This novel sheeting comprises a central longitudinal web portion with a multiplicity of elongated strips, generally of the same shape, integral with said web portion and extending outwardly from both sides thereof, and a permanent crease in each of said strips extending longitudinally thereon for a substantial portion of the strip length.

The polymer sheeting of this invention will normally have a uniform thickness in the range of 3 to mils and be about 4 to 12 inches wide. The web portion will usually cover at least about 5 percent of the sheeting width. In most instances it will extend over about 5 to percent of the sheeting width. This sheeting may be made from any extrudable or calendared synthetic polymer, including the available polyvinyl halides, polyesters, polyamides and polyolefins. Sheeting made from polyvinyl chloride is preferred.

The strips will usually be either regularly shaped, e.g., parallelogramor oblong-shaped, or of a leaf or floral pattern. More usually they will be of the same shape and extend outwardly from the opposite sides of the web in pairs at the same angle relative to the web. The strips may be either spaced or directly adjacent each other. When floral or leaf-shaped strips are involved, they will usually be spaced approximately 0 to 1% inches from each other and extend outwardly from the longitudinal sides of the web at substantially right angles. Strips which are regularly shaped and have linear sides will usually be directly adjacent each other. If the cuts or slits which form the strips are substantially linear, i.e., if the strips are directly adjacent each other, it is possible to prevent the slits from tearing into the web portion by terminating each slit at its intersection with the web by a small aperture. These apertures may be of any desired shape, but they are preferably circular and of about to I25 mils in diameter. By so terminating each slit, the integrity of the sheeting is maintained both before and after it is formed into garland.

The permanentcrease in each strip will normally be about 10 to 50 mils deep and about 50 to I25 mils wide. It will also usually be V-shaped and have a slight indentation at each end caused by the internal stretching of the sheet. It is preferable that the creases be positioned approximately centrally widthwise of the strip and extend outwardly on the strips from the strip-web intersection or a point close thereto for at least about 25 percent of the strip length-In most instances the creases will extend between 25 and 50 percent of the strip length.

The novel process and apparatus of this invention provide for the automated and continuous manufacture of the abovedescribed sheeting in which the cuts or slits which form the strips are repetitively made in the sheet and the permanent crease is punched into each strip simultaneously as the next adjacent strip is being cut. In this manner, the invention combines the cutting and the creasing of the strips into a single operation; thus conserving machinery and space.

It is therefore a primary object of this invention to provide a unique decorative sheeting of improved structural integrity.

Another object is to provide a decorative sheeting having a multiplicity of elongated strips which will not droop or sag from their own weight.

Still another object is to provide a decorative sheeting comprising a web portion having a multiplicity of elongated strips extending therefrom which are resistant to tearing into the web.

Still another object of this invention is to enable the rapid automated manufacture of such sheeting.

Yet another object is to provide a process and apparatus in which the cuts which form the slits are repetitively made while a permanent crease is formed in each strip simultaneously as the next adjacent strip is being cut.

This invention and the above objects may be further understood and other objects will be apparent from the accompanying drawings, of which:

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of an apparatus for making the sheeting of this invention;

FIG. 2 is a top enlarged plan view of a segment of the sheeting of this invention in which a portion is uncut and a portion is cut and creased;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view along line 3-3 of FIG. 4, showing the cutting and creasing die portion of the apparatus;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged perspective view of the cutting and creasing die of the invention apparatus with the top die plate partially broken away;

FIG. Sis an enlarged perspective view of a portion of the cut and creased sheet of FIG. 2 with a portion of one of the strips broken away to show the profile of the permanent crease formed therein;

FIG. 6 is a partially diagrammatic perspective view of a portion of the apparatus used to form the sheeting made by the apparatus of FIGS. 1 and 3 into garland; and

FIG. 7 is a partial side view of the garland shown in FIG. 6.

FIGS. 2 and 5 illustrate a typical embodiment of the sheeting of this invention. The illustrated sheeting 6 comprises a central longitudinal web or bridge portion 62 with opposing pairs of parallelogram-shaped strips 63 extending outwardly and forwardly from both longitudinal sides thereof at an angle of approximately 45. Each strip 63 is formed by a pair of parallel, spaced slits 69 which extend outwardly to the outer edge of the sheet and inwardly to intercept with the web. Each slit 69 terminates at its intersection with web 62 in a circular hole 66. In its finished form, a permanent V-shaped crease 64 is formed substantially centrally widthwise of each strip 63 and extends longitudinally thereon from a point near the intersection of strip 63 with web 62 and outwardly for approximately 25 percent of the length of the strip 63. Slight indentations 65 of greater depth and width than crease 64 terminate each end of crease 64.

As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the sheeting of FIGS. 2 and 5 is twisted into garland by feeding it longitudinally between the concavely grooved circumferential surfaces of driven sheaves 73, 74. Wire 71, 72, usually of 18 to 14 gauge, is tangentially fed into the respective concave grooves of sheaves 73 and 74 on the forward edges thereof from above the former and below the latter. The wires respectively wrap around sheaves 72, 74 for approximately 90 and emerge from the nip of sheaves 72 and 74 in the plane of the nip parallel to the sheeting, one on top of the web portion of the sheeting and the other below it. Thus the sheeting is sandwiched between wires 71, 72. The lead ends of wires 71, 72 are formed into loop 75, which is attached to eyebolt 76. Eyebolt 76 is operatively associated with a longitudinally movable rotating carriage (not shown) which is adaptable to carry the sheeting wire sandwich away from the nip of the sheaves 73, 74 while twisting the same into garland. As the wires are twisted, usually to the extent of about 20 to 30 turns per foot, the strips of the sheeting are randomly splayed out like projecting rays about the twisted wires. As indicated previously, the creases on the strips rigidify them, thus enabling them to project outwardly in all directions from the twisted wire core without sagging or drooping from their own weight.

FIGS. 1, 3 and 4 show the preferred embodiment of the apparatus used to make novel sheeting of FIGS. 2 and 5. In general, this apparatus consists of a trio of stations which may be described separately. For purposes of this description, the right-hand end of this apparatus as seen in FIG. 1 will be referred to as the forward end of the machine; and, correlatively, the left-hand end will be called the rearward end. The three stations may be described generally as sheeting storage and feed station 1, sheeting cutting and creasing station 2 and sheeting takeup station 3.

Sheeting storage and feed station 1 includes a frame 4 adapted to support one or more reels 5 of continuous, thin, deformable sheeting 6. Sheeting 6 may be preformed independently from the invention apparatus by conventional extrusion or calendaring methods.

As seen in FIG. 1, frame 4 comprises the support for each of the three above-described stations and is movably mounted on wheels 9 for limited transportation from one location to another without dismantling the apparatus. Reels 5 are removably journaled on forwardly inclined frame member 7 in apertures 8. Thus a reel 5 may be removed from frame member 7 when it is spent and easily replaced with a fresh, full reel. Guide 10 is mounted rearwardly on vertical frame member 14 and consists of a stack of slot apertures, each adapted to receive a sheeting 6 dispensed from a reel 5 and guide it between feed rolls l5. Feed rolls 15 are suitably journaled in cars 16 which are rigidly affixed near the top of vertical frame member 14 and project forwardly therefrom in spaced, parallel relationship. In FIG. 1 bottom feed roll 15 is driven clockwise by electric motor 17 via suitable belts and gears located in gear box 18. Top feed roll 15 is freely rotatable counterclockwise from the friction put on it by sheeting 6 passing through the nip of feed rolls 15. Alternatively, top feed roll 15 may be driven by motor 17 at the same speed as bottom feed roll 15 if desired.

Cutting and creasing station 2 includes a cutting and creasing die set generally designated 19 supported by downwardly extending legs 20 which are affixed to base frame member 21. As shown in FIGS. 1, 3, and 4, cutting and creasing die set 19 includes an upper die block 22 and a lower die block 23 positioned parallel to and below upper die block 22 and mounted on baseplate 24. Connecting arms 25, 26 mounted approximately midway on the outward sides of upper die block 22 operatively connect upper die block 22 with eccentric cam 28. Eccentric cam 28 in turn is connected by shaft 29 to flywheel 30. A V-belt connects flywheel 30 to the drive pulley of electric motor 17. Thus upper die block 22 is adapted to be driven vertically up and down as eccentric cam 28 is rotated by the motion offlywheel 30.

The cutting and creasing implements of die set 19 are mounted on the underside of upper die block 22 and on the top side of lower die block 23. Specifically, upper stripper plates 31 are attached to the underside of upper die block 22 and are disposed relative to each other in a forwardly opening V-shape, the inner angle of which is approximately Lower stripper plates 34 are movably connected to each upper stripper plate 31 in spaced parallel relationship by coil springs 35. Blades 36 are mounted on the forward vertical side of each upper stripper plate 31 and extend downwardly therefrom such that when upper die block 22 is at the peak of its upstroke the bottommost points of blades 36 are positioned closely adjacent the lower horizontal sides of lower stripper plates 34. The rearward sides 37 of each blade 36 are flat and the lower portions of forward sides 38 thereof slope rearwardly and downwardly to meet with rearward sides 37 to form sharp cutting edges. Each blade 36 has two spaced bores 40; one positioned near its inner end and the other near its outer end. Rams 32, each with a punch 33 mounted on its bottom, are also affixed to the upper die block 22 in a position parallel to and rearward of the inward ends of blades 36.

Crease punch blocks 56, each having two counterbores 41 which mate with and are slightly larger in diameter than bores 40, are mounted on the forward side of each blade 36 by bolts 43. Each counterbore 41 is thus an extension of bore 40 and combines with bore 40 to receive bolts 43. Each counterbore 41 terminates forwardly with elongated slots 42. An elongated crease punch 39 of triangular cross section is mounted on the bottom of each crease punch block 56, with a point extending downwardly and parallel to blade 36.

Threaded bores 55 extend vertically through upper die block 22 directly above each crease punch block 56 and screws 44 are threaded therethrough, permitting vertical adjustment of crease punch block 56 within the limits of elongated slots 42. A press bar 45 of generally cylindrical shape is attached at one end to the outer side edge of each lower stripper plate 34. A portion of press bar 45 extends outwardly from said outer side edge and a second portion integral with the first portion bends around said edge and extends in spaced, parallel relationship forwardly of the inclined lower portion of forward side 38 of blade 36. The end of said second portion of press bar 45 is attached to the forward vertical side of the opposing lower stripper plate. Press bar 45 is positioned relative to crease punch 39 such that it passes through the space between the inclined portion of forward side 38 of blade 36 and the forwardly inclined side of crease punch 39 and is slightly lower than the bottommost point of crease punch 39 at the peak of the upstroke of upper die block 22.

Mounted on the top side of the lower die block 34 are the portions of cutting and creasing die set 19 which mate with lower stripper plates 34, blades 36, punches 33 and crease punches 39 as the same engage the sheeting passing beneath them on the downstroke of upper die block 22. Those portions comprise die plate 46, shear plates 48 and resilient pad 50. Die plate 46 is rectangularly shaped and is positioned with its sides parallel to those of die blocks 22, 23. It has two bores 47 running vertically through it which are positioned directly below and are adapted to mate with punches 33 on the downstroke of upper die block 22. Shear plates 48 are disposed directly below lower stripper plates 34 and form a forwardly opening V-shape of the same inner angle as lower stripper plates 34. The leading sides 49 of shear plates 48 are slightly rearward of blades 36 so that on the downstroke blades 36 may wipe sides 49 in cutting action. Adjustment blocks 54, 57 may be moved forwardly or rearwardly to adjust the position of shear plates 48. Square resilient pad 50 is positioned forwardly of shear plates 48 with its rearward vertical sides 51 in closely adjacent, spaced, parallel relationship to sides 49 of shear plates 48. The tops of sides 51 are beveled at the same angle as the lower portion of blades 36 to permit blades 36 to penetrate into the gap between sides 40 and sides 51 on the downstroke.

A scrap barrel 60 is positioned beneath base member 21 to catch the pieces of sheeting punched out by punches 33. If the cutting and creasing die set 19 described above were modified to form spaced rather than directly adjacent strips, barrel 60 would also serve as a receptacle for the scraps punched to form spaces between the strips.

Takeup station 3 is positioned forwardly of sheeting, cutting and creasing station 2 and includes horizontal frame member 52, takeup rollers 53 and barrels 58, 59. As the cut and creased sheeting leaves cutting and creasing station 2, each sheet is fed down between the nips of opposing sets of takeup rollers 53 which are rotatably journaled in member 52. Rollers 53 thus guide a sheet 6 down into each of barrels 58, 59.

In operation (illustrated in phantom in FIGS. 3 and 4) one or more sheets 6 are fed from feed station 1 through feed rolls 15, between upper die block 22 and lower die block 23. As flywheel 30 rotates, eccentric cam 28 transforms the rotary motion into reciprocating linear motion and forces upper die block 22 up and down. On each downstroke punches 33 punch holes 66 in sheet 6, thus forming spaced, parallel, longitudinal rows thereof in sheet 6. As each downstroke begins lower stripper plates 34 engage the portion of sheet 6 directly below them and forces it down against shear plates 48. As the downstroke continues upper stripper plate 31 compresses spring 35, thus holding said portion of sheet 6 temporarily in place as blades 36 engage the sheet. As upper stripper plate 31 continues to move downwardly, blades 36 penetrate sheet 6 and wipe sides 49, thus forming a pair of elongated slits in sheet 6 which are forwardly inclined at an angle of approximately 45". The spacing and alignment between the inner edges of blades 36 and punches 33 are such that the circular holes made by punches 33 are spaced at the same intervals as the elongated slits formed by blades 36 and are positioned at the inner ends thereof.

Since crease punches 39 are mounted on the forward sides of blades 36 they move downwardly in unison with blades 36 on the downstroke. Crease punches 39 are positioned far enough forward of blades 36 to engage the pair of strips directly ahead of the pair then being cut by blades 36. Since pad 51 is made of a resilient material such as rubber, crease punches 39 do not penetrate the strips but merely form elongated V-shaped creases longitudinally thereon. The depth and width of these creases may be varied by adjusting crease punch blocks 56 vertically with screws 44. Press bar 45, being slightly lower than crease punch 39 in the nonstrip-engaging position thereof, operates to engage the sheet slightly before crease punch 39 and remains in contact with the sheet slightly after crease punch 39 disengages it. In this manner, press bar 45 facilitates a clean disengagement of crease punch 39 from the crease, thereby preventing the strip from fouling on crease punch 39. On the upstroke of upper die block 22 punches 33, lower stripper plates 34, blades 36, press bars 45 and crease punches 39 disengage the sheet and it is advanced by the force exerted on it by feed rolls 15. Accordingly, a single downstroke of die block 22 forms a set of holes 66, cuts 69 and creases 64 in sheeting 6 and successive downstrokes form parallel rows of such holes, cuts and creases.

It is apparent that the shape of the cutting edges of blades 36 may be modified to form cuts of various shapes in the sheeting. Similarly, the positions and angles of the cuts on either side of the web portion may vary relative to each other. In this manner sheeting with an almost unlimited variety of strip shapes may be formed. Other modifications of the abovedescribed sheeting, process and apparatus will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art. Such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of the following claims.

I claim:

1. Decorative sheeting made from a thin, deformable, polymer sheet comprising:

a. a longitudinal web portion positioned substantially centrally widthwise of said sheet;

b. a multiplicity of elongated strips integral with said web portion and extending outwardly from both sides thereof; and

c. permanent creases longitudinally on each of said strips and extending over a substantial portion of the length thereof, but less than the entire length thereof.

2. A decorative sheeting according to claim 1 wherein:

d. there is a single permanent crease longitudinally on each of said strips; and I e. said single permanent crease 15 positioned substantially centrally widthwise of said strip and extends outwardly from a point near the intersection of said strip and said web for at least 25 percent of the length of said strip, but less than the entire length thereof.

. A decorative sheeting according to claim 2 in which:

said single permanent crease extends for about 25 to 50 percent of the length of said strip.

4. A decorative sheeting of claim 1 wherein:

d. said strips are formed by a pair of substantially linear cuts extending from said web portion to the edge of said sheet; and

e. said cuts are terminated at their intersection with said web portion by small apertures.

5. A decorative sheeting of claim 4 wherein:

f. said apertures are circular and are 30 to mils in diameter.

6. A decorative sheeting of claim 1 wherein:

d. each end of said creases terminates in an indentation of greater width and depth than said creases, and

e. said creases are substantially linear and have V-shape cross sections.

7. A decorative sheeting according to claim I wherein:

d. said web portion extends over about 5 to 20 percent of the sheeting width.

8. Garland comprising:

a. the decorative sheeting of claim 1;

b. a first wire positioned lengthwise at approximately the center of said web portion and on top of said sheeting; and

c. a second wire positioned lengthwise at approximately the center of said web portion and below said sheeting, said first wire and said second wire being twisted together at from about 20 to 30 turns per foot.

9. Garland comprising:

a. a decorative sheeting of claim 4;

b. a first wire positioned lengthwise at approximately the center of said web portion and on top of said sheeting; and

c. a second wire positioned lengthwise at approximately the center of said web portion and below said sheeting, said first wire and said second wire being twisted together at from about 20 to 30 turns per foot.

10. A decorative sheeting according to claim 2 wherein:

f. said strips are formed by a pair of substantially linear cuts extending from said web portion to the edge of said sheet;

g. said cuts are terminated at their intersection with said web portion by small apertures;

h. each end of said creases terminates in an indentation of greater width and depth than said creases; and

i. said creases are substantially linear and have V-shape cross sections.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE m CORRECTKQN Patent No. 3637452 Dated January 25, 1972 InventorQ Sanders, Frederick M.

It is certified that error appears in the above-identified patent -and that said Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:

At the appropriate position on the front page add:

Valley Decorating Company, a California Assignee: corporation of Pinedale, California.--

Signed and sealed this 3rd day of October 1972.

(SEAL) Attest:

EDWARD MQFLETCHER, JR. j ROBERT GOTTSCHALK Attestin'g Officer Commissioner of Patent FORM PC4050 USCOMM-DC suave-ps9 I U15. GOVERNMENT PRINTING DFFICE \95? L 5\'3J4 

1. Decorative sheeting made from a thin, deformable, polymer sheet comprising: a. a longitudinal web portion positioned substantially centrally widthwise of said sheet; b. a multiplicity of elongated strips integral with said web portion and extending outwardly from both sides thereof; and c. permanent creases longitudinally on each of said strips and extending over a substantial portion of the length thereof, but less than the entire length thereof.
 2. A decorative sheeting according to claim 1 wherein: d. there is a single permanent crease longitudinally on each of said strips; and e. said single permanent crease is positioned substantially centrally widthwise of said strip and extends outwardly from a point near the intersection of said strip and said web for at least 25 percent of the length of said strip, but less than the entire length thereof.
 3. A decorative sheeting according to claim 2 in which: f. said single permanent crease extends for about 25 percent to 50 percent of the length of said strip.
 4. A decorative sheeting of claim 1 wherein: d. said strips are formed by a pair of substantially linear cuts extending from said web portion to the edge of said sheet; and e. said cuts are terminated at their intersection with said web portion by small apertures.
 5. A decorative sheeting of claim 4 wherein: f. said apertures are circular and are 30 to 125 mils in diameter.
 6. A decorative sheeting of claim 1 wherein: d. each end of said creases terminates in an indentation of greater width and depth than said creases, and e. said creases are substantially linear and have V-shape cross sections.
 7. A decorative sheeting according to claim 1 wherein: d. said web portion extends over about 5 percent to 20 percent of the sheeting width.
 8. Garland comprising: a. the decorative sheeting of claim 1; b. a first wire positioned lengthwise at approximately the center of said web portion and on top of said sheeting; and c. a second wire positioned lengthwise at approximately the center of said web portion and below said sheeting, said first wire and said second wire being twisted together at from about 20 to 30 turns per foot.
 9. Garland comprising: a. a decorative sheeting of claim 4; b. a first wire positioned lengthwise at approximately the center of said web portion and on top of said sheeting; and c. a second wire positioned lengthwise at approximately the center of said web portion and below said sheeting, said first wire and said second wire being twisted together at from about 20 to 30 turns per foot.
 10. A decorative sheeting according to claim 2 wherein: f. said strips are formed by a pair of substantially linear cuts extending from said web portion to the edge of said sheet; g. said cuts are terminated at their intersection with said web portion by small apertures; h. each end of said creases terminates in an indentation of greater width and depth than said creases; and i. said creases are substantially linear and have V-shape cross sections. 